Amalgamator



7 UNI-TED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALEXANDER D. CLARKE, OF OMAHA, NEBRASKA.

AMALGAlVl ATO R.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 247,168, dated September 20, 1881.

Application filed April 11, 1881.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known thatI, ALEXANDER D. CLARKE, of the city of Omaha, in the county of Douglas and State of Nebraska,have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Amalgamators for Extracting Gold and Silver from Ores, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to the apparatus for feeding the mercury in amalgamators used for the extraction of gold and silver from auriferons or argentit'erous ores or other material.

In the execution of the invention I proceed as follows:

By mechanical means or otherwise I impregnate vegetable, animal, or mineral tissues or masses, or any combination of such substances, with metallic mercury, or with metallic mercury holding in solution or suspension sodium, potassium, magnesium, or any amalgam or other metallic substance or alloy. The substance thus impregnated may be more or less porous-wood, leather, or earthernware, or any similar porous vegetable, animal, or mineral substance, or combination of such substancesor the mercury maybe incorporated with clay, wood-pulp, or any other similar animal, vegetable, or mineral porous substances while in a moist or more or less pasty state; or the mercury may be diffused through any of the abovementioned substancesin the state of any of the soluble salts of mercury, and the mass then impregnated with sulphite of soda, finely-di- (No model.)

vided iiietallic iron, or any other of the agents capable of reducing the salts of mercury to metallic mercury. With the tissue, texture, or mass thus impregnated or charged, I bring about contact between it and the ore or other metal-holding material by forcibly jetting the latter in a finely-divided state against the impregnated substance, so that the gold or silver in the latter will be driven to commingle and amalgamate with the mercury or other amalgam in the charged substance; or the union of the amalgamating agent with the metal sought to be extracted maybe effected by submitting the ore to a grinding or other frictional contact with the impregnated substance. Whichever of these methods be followed, the amalgam-carrying substance will be worn away gradually, so there will always be exposed upon the surface a fresh supply of the amalgamating agent.

I claim As a new article of manufacture, adapted to use in connection with blast-producing devices for jetting the mineral, the tissue, texture, or mass of animal, vegetable, or mineral substance impregnated with mercury orits equivalent, substantially as specified.

ALEXANDER D. CLARKE.

Witnesses H. W. MUNDAY, EVERETT BROWN. 

